New principal named at HHS, first African-American to serve in position

A new Hahnville High School principal is among the administrative changes announced by St. Charles Parish Public Schools for the 2017-18 school year.

Brian Lumar will step up from assistant principal to principal effective July 1. Laura Abbey, who was named HHS principal in February of last year, is listed as an assistant principal at Harry M. Hurst Middle School in Destrehan.

In response to the change, system spokeswoman Stevie Crovetto said this time of year isn’t unusual for making “administrative decisions that are in the best interest of the school system and the students we serve.”Crovetto added, “It is also the time when requests for reassignment are considered. These factors were considered as the school system made administrative decisions. The appointment of Mr. Lumar as principal of Hahnville High School is one of several administrative changes that was made for the 2017-18 school year.”

Starting his 17th year at HHS, Lumar said he is the first African-American named to the position at the school. It will also be his first time serving as a principal.

“It’s all about the students and having the opportunity to enrich the lives of young children,” he said. “Principals are responsible for ensuring our schools are open, that the teachers who inspired us are receiving the support he or she needs, and that our classrooms are environments that will help us learn.

“I was inspired by a principal, but it wasn’t when I was a child it was when I was a teacher. And that inspiration has guided me to become a principal who continues to adapt and learn based on what I saw worked and didn’t work. Leadership matters.”

Lumar said he wants HHS to have a family atmosphere.“When you walk through the doors there will be an air of connectedness that any visitor can sense immediately,” he said. “We will certainly be ‘a community of caring.’ I will make myself accessible to all stakeholders so that they may feel at home in the building, aware that the principal cares about them. I want teachers to be able to say, ‘If I needed him right now, I could talk to him right now, no matter what he’s doing.’”

He also wants to build a sense of teamwork.

Lumar’s philosophy is “Every job is a self-portrait of the person who did it, and I do plan on autographing my work with excellence.”

He also noted St. Charles Parish has an “A” school district with the approach that “an investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.”

Without continual growth and progress, the words - improvement, achievement and success have no meaning, Lumar added.

A graduate of Loyola University, Lumar got a bachelor of arts degree double majoring in communications and English.

He received his master’s degree from the University of Texas Arlington in Educational Leadership, and is in the process of completing his doctorate degree this summer from Southeastern Louisiana University.

Lumar is Loyola’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder in the school’s history. He is a member of Loyola’s Athletic Hall of Fame, named 2003 and 2009 Coach of the Year with Hahnville.

He also attended Archbishop Shaw High School where he won two state championships and ranked fifth in his class as a high school senior.

“HHS is a place where you can experience tradition and expect success,” Lumar said. “I am so appreciative of having the opportunity to establish a solid foundation, which I can become a proud and productive team member.”